US President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to get Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to soften the bill on sanctions against Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper’s sources said that in recent weeks, the White House and other administration officials have contacted Graham’s office and urged him to soften the bill.
The proposal is to add exceptions to the document that would allow Trump to pick and choose who or what is subject to sanctions. Graham was also asked to replace the words “shall” with “may” in the text of the bill, thus eliminating the mandatory nature of executive orders.
As the WSJ notes, every administration asks for changes to high-profile bills, often seeking language that gives the president more decision-making power. However, the interlocutors told the paper, this would make the bill “toothless.” They added that Trump already has the ability to impose sanctions as he sees fit.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, confirmed to the WSJ private negotiations with the White House, but declined to comment on their substance.
According to the WSJ, Trump fears the bill could damage his attempts to improve relations between the US and Russia.
In late May, US President Donald Trump said he did not yet know whether he would support imposing tough new sanctions against Russia in response to the Kremlin’s refusal to settle the war with Ukraine.
The bill, which would impose 500 per cent duties on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and petroleum products, was introduced in Congress in April by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
On 30 May, Blumenthal and Graham said after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev that the US Senate may start considering the sanctions bill next week. To pass the bill, it must be approved by the US Senate and the House of Representatives and then signed by the president.